Sowande' Mustakeem

Dr. Sowande' Mustakeem is an Associate Professor of History and African and African-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, specializing in the Atlantic slave trade with focus on the Middle Passage experience. Her award-winning book 'Slavery at Sea' examines the maritime dimensions of slavery.

Her research investigates the intersections of terror, sickness, and sexual violence during oceanic transport of enslaved Africans. She analyzes how race and medicine intertwined through the practices of slave ship surgeons and the commodification of human bodies.

Dr. Mustakeem teaches courses on slavery in American popular culture and visual histories of the African Diaspora. She has received numerous awards including the Wesley-Logan Prize from the American Historical Association.